Newsletter
Happy Spring Everyone!
Sincerely,
Samantha Collins
Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator
Volunteer of the Month
Since October 2011
They should do it, it is a very good experience and it is helpful to the families and patients!
NEON GREEN VOLUNTEER CONTACT SHEET
We have changed the volunteer contact information sheet to neon green. When you are paired up with a patient please do not forget to sign the neon green form in the back of the red hospice binder in the MISCELLANEOUS section. Signing your name and the best phone number to reach you at in case the patient should pass away…this will be beneficial should the patient pass over the weekend. This is to ensure that you are notified immediately.
Support Group to Help Ease
the Burden of Loss
Facing the Mourning
An interactive support group designed to help with the grieving process by using visual and thought provoking tools. During these four sessions, the attendees will share their story, build memories, write in journals, and write letters as a group. Open to all types of losses, individuals and family members.
If you think you or someone you may know could benefit from this group please call.
This group has had a lot of positive feedback and has been a very valuable group for grieving people.
If you have any questions or would like to sign up please call Paula Bur at 906-225-7760.
Week 1 Keeping Your Memories Alive
Week 2 Letter Writing
Week 3 Journaling Your Thoughts
Week 4 Working Toward the Future
Lake Superior Hospice Volunteer
Reflects on Her Journey
Today, I am proud to be part of a most compassionate hospice team as a volunteer. When I receive that call from Lake Superior Hospice, asking if I am available to visit a patient, I hear them say: “I have another ‘gift’ for you today.” They say gifts come in all sizes and packages.
How true. You never know what this gift is going to be – sometimes you never know until you open that gift. I have been blessed with many loving gifts from hospice since 2003. They do not sit on my shelf at home. They reside in my heart and I pay them forward.
Hospice care is a particular type of compassionate care that addresses all the needs of a person who has a serious illness. The goal of hospice is to improve quality of life for both our patients and the family by providing patients with relief from symptoms, pain, and stress of the illness – whatever the diagnosis. In addition, hospice addresses the needs of the family and friends of the patient to the greatest extent possible so that all concerned can maintain dignity and quality of life. An important part of hospice is that patients and families help decide what care is right for them. A team of doctors, nurses, and other specialists work with the patient’s other doctors to provide an extra layer of support.
As a hospice volunteer you play a large role in providing this “extra layer of support” to the patient and their loved ones. It is an honor and a privilege to be allowed into the home of people you have never met before and for them to allow you, a stranger, to become part of the most important journey in their life. Each one teaches you something. It never fails. They help prepare you for your journey.
I encourage those of you who have ever considered being a hospice volunteer to take that leap of faith and learn about the abundant “gifts” you will be graced with. This will be a new and extraordinary journey in your life. One you will not regret nor forget.
It may be a little intimidating, but those you meet will immediately put you at ease. You will love more deeply. Life’s experiences will come together like pieces of a puzzle.
Lake Superior Hospice is now seeking volunteers to join their volunteer team and participate in their FREE Spring Volunteer Training to be held Friday, April 13 & Saturday, April 14. Volunteers are needed for office assistance, friendly visitor, veteran to veteran, and community outreach. For more information on how to become a volunteer call Lake Superior Hospices’ Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator, Samantha Collins at 906.225.7760 or email scollins@
It’s that time of year again, Volunteer training!
Our March Volunteer of the Month |
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 Cara Crawford
Outstanding Volunteer Moment
Cara is currently offering amazing support and friendship to a patient in a nursing home. Cara never passes up an
opportunity for learning more about hospice and has proven herself to be a dedicated hospice volunteer!
Hometown: West Branch, MI Career: Pre-med student; would like to become a medical doctor. How long have you been a volunteer with LSH? What do you enjoy most about being a hospice volunteer? What was a moment you feel was most memorable as a hospice volunteer? What would you tell someone considering being a hospice volunteer?
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